The Pros And Cons Of Felony Murder

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Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another, because of a negligent of unlawful act.

Felony Murder Rule

The felony murder rule is a highly criticized rule because it holds all parties of a crime liable for any death that occurred during the commission of the crime. Even if the death was not directly performed by one of the felons, they will all be charged. For example: During a robbery someone dies of a heart attach. All of the parties involved will be charged with murder. There are limitations to this rule: Some courts require that the death was foreseeable; the crime being committed must be inherently dangerous; the felony committed in connection with the murder, has to be independent and one of the deaths must have been caused directly by one of the felons, and as a consequence of the crime. In State v. Goodseal the meaning of inherently dangerous had to be defined. Charles Goodseal had been released from prison in August, 1969. In December, 1973 he want to look for work in Denver, Colorado, where he stayed with a friend. His friend, Carl Davis, said Goodseal had a .38 caliber revolver with him. They returned to Wichita on December 19, 1973. They met a topless dancer called “Silky” and befriended her. She asked for help getting out of needing to perform sexual acts later during her shift. Goodseal was to pretend to be her jealous husband. Silky showed him her gun, which could be used to scare the client away. The gun was unloaded, according to him. They carried out the plan and Goodseal shot …show more content…

For battery there must have been the actual act and intent is not necessarily a requirement. A negligent or illegal act may be enough. For assault it is required that an actual deliberate threat was made to cause fear on the victim, and there was an attempt to commit battery.

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